NVIDIA Project Shield – handheld gaming got a serious upgrade

Do you remember when a new portable gaming system came out and you thought it was a little too pricey? The original Nintendo Game Boy came out in 1989, and started off at around $90. While the quality of handheld gaming has vastly improved since then, do you think you could find it in you to put down $350 for one?
The NVIDIA Project Shield is one serious mobile gaming system. It runs on a Tegra 4 processor, has 72 GPU cores, and quad-core A15 CPU. There are integrated stereo speakers, as well as a built-in microphone. All of this is running on the Android Jelly Bean OS, and is displayed in a five inch 1280×720 mutli-touch display. There are ports for a mini HDMI, Micro USB, MicroSD slot, and a headphone jack.

The layout for the controller is a cross between the ones for the Playstation and Xbox, as it has dual analog joysticks, a D-pad, triggers, bumpers, A/B/X/Y buttons, and a start button. There is also a power button, as well as an Android home and back button. It comes with Sonic 4 Episode II THD, and Expendable: Rearmed as a bonus. At this point it’s only available for pre-order, and getting a case will cost you an additional $40.